StackFuel

Training the Data Experts of Tomorrow

Big Data
Founded in 2017
6 employees
Funding Undisclosed

StackFuel (formerly dataX Academy), an online learning platform for data science and big data, focuses on B2B clients wanting to take their workforce to the next skill level needed in a data-driven corporation. The platform offers a variety of courses for non-technical employees, engineers, or data scientists. StackFuel has been widely recognised in the education space with f.ex., the digital education award at CeBIT, or the award for Best Startup Pitch at Europe’s largest e-learning fair Learntec. Website

Interview with StackFuel

What inspired you to found your startup?

We have been building our last startup (www.boxrox.com) for the past 5 years and were always working very data-driven. After a while we decided to work freelance in big data and data analytics projects and realised how big the actual skill gap for data experts was. Instead of building a consulting business we decided to build a scalable business model and educate employees rather than being the only experts ourselves.

How do you define success for yourself and your company?

We have strict KPIs and are driven by them. Beside that for us it’s important to have a positive impact in the transition of organizations and their employees. We are a part of the digital transformation and proud to help companies mastering this challenge.

Is there anything you’d do differently if you could do it again?

Like always you should launch your product earlier to get validated feedback. Everyone says they work lean and fast but in reality you end up to shape the product too far without getting early feedback. So yes, validating the product much earlier. When we did it the feedback was mind blowing.

What problem does your product solve?

At the moment there are just 3 types of training: offline trainings, generic online trainings and university degrees. We are filling the gap of a “last mile” training provider to make people (within an organisation) ready for their next challenge. Through the only component we can supply companies with an cost efficient way of doing that.

Where do you see your company in 1/5/10 years?

How are you different?

StackFuel provides every user / learner with an own server and learning environment. We don’t rely on theory but practical learning. Therefore every user can access data science tools and libraries within the browser and has zero setup fees. On top of that we are specialised on the needs of the B2B customer, who wants to onboard new employees or train/upskill existing ones.

How often does your product/service show up in a user’s day or week?

Depends on the flexibility of the employer. From one day a week for 2-3 hours to 5-7 days full-time.

Impact: how are you doing good and building a better future?

In the US alone there will be 2.7 million open positions in data-related jobs. This ranges from data-driven decision makers, over data engineers and analysts to data scientists. We are helping to close this gap and enable companies to be innovative. On the other side we help employees to gain more knowledge and advance their careers. Apart from that we are planning to launch a broad range of scholarships for minorities and specific geos.

How has the startup scene in Berlin changed?

We think what has changed is that the scene got less exclusive. With spaces like Factory, WeWork, Mindspace, Startup Bootcamp and others founders, investors and influencers of the scene got much more approachable. The scene is still super international what makes it so fascinating.

What are the pros and cons of launching your startup from Berlin?

Pros: Super international, easy to find top talent, still affordable (rents, food etc.), more than enough events for founders and startup employees, good network of investors.
Cons: Still not enough (angel & growth) capital around, being an entrepreneur is hip so you don’t know who to take serious, too isolated from other cities, the airport situation.

Bonus Question: Anything else that we need to know about you?

We are currently raising funds, so if this can somehow be mentioned it would be great. We also have won several awards which might improve the social proof.

WeWork Sony Center

With community as their catalyst, WeWork started in 2010 as a space that was more than beautiful, shared office spaces. They have 211 office locations in 52 cities worldwide, including three in Berlin.